The Atlanta Braves’ Mike Minor leads off from third base while Colorado Rockies pitcher Alex White delivers a pitch in the third inning at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday, September 5, 2012.

The Rockies shook their franchise by the shoulders, trading former All-Star Game starter Ubaldo Jimenez to the Indians for four players. But let’s be honest, this deal was about the two prized arms Colorado received in return: Drew Pomeranz and Alex White.

The move was bold, daring, controversial and, thus far, disappointing. White, who worked less than five innings for the seventh consecutive start Wednesday, and Pomeranz are a combined 7-20 with a 5.71 ERA. They have youth on their side, making minimum salaries as they slog through their rookie seasons at a time when many pitchers their age are in Double-A.

For Cleveland, Jimenez has been worse when framed by expectations and his contract. The right-hander lost to Detroit on Wednesday. He is 13-19 with a 5.44 ERA for the Indians since the deal that was supposed to push Cleveland into the playoffs last season. The Indians sacrificed their future for Jimenez, and are now upside down on their mortgage. By season’s end, they will have paid him $5.1 million.

That should have been a bargain for a quasi-ace. But as the Rockies recognized when they began shopping him last summer, he was no longer elite. What their statistics told them, other teams confirmed with their underwhelming offers for him.

Jimenez has fallen to the point that it would not be a surprise if the Indians decline his $5.75 million club option and exercise a $1 million buyout. He hasn’t been competitive on many nights, following a trend of Rockies pitchers who have nose-dived after logging large work loads at altitude.

The right-hander is threatening to post the highest ERA by an Indians starter since 1921.

It’s not like Pomeranz and White have made anyone forget Jimenez, whose ability to pitch at Coors Field made him unique by Rockies standards. Their outings have been like heavyweight boxing matches. They are up. They are down. They are on the ropes. They avoid direct shots to the chin, but are unable to deliver haymakers.

Pomeranz has shown elite starter ability, his win against Washington before the all-star break arguably the Rockies’ finest pitched game this season. But he’s still learning how to pitch through soreness, how to win without his best stuff. Jim Tracy talked to him Wednesday about his growth.

“We need to see incremental progress. I am not talking about taking quantum leaps, but it’s time to move forward,” the Rockies manager said. “It’s like my mentor Felipe Alou said, ‘If you’ve seen it, it’s in there.’ “

White has been everything but consistent. His sinker produces groundballs, though they are undermined by too many walks and an inflated pitch count. The right-hander threw 71 pitches Wednesday, just 32 for strikes. The movement on his two-seam fastball suggests that he can be a starter, though a seventh-inning groundball machine carries value as well.

For both to improve, they must improve command of their secondary pitches.

Pomeranz has a dirty cut fastball that turns bats into firewood. His curveball and changeup, however, are swing-and-miss pitches that he needs to throw for strikes when behind in the count.

Thirteen months later, the resultant picture, showing uneven performances across the board, remains out of focus.

Troy is a former Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies beat writer for The Denver Post. He joined the news organization in 2002 as the Rockies' beat writer and became a Broncos beat writer in 2014 before assuming the lead role ahead of the 2015 season. He left The Post in 2015.

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